Studying Sucks
by Tikal Tyrant
Summary: A short one-shot in which Kyle is too frustrated to study. Why? Because he knows that Stan and Wendy are together while he is left by himself. If only he could get over his jealousy and find some motivation to study. Contains pretty strong Style tones.


A/N: I was inspired to write this little one-shot because I too should be studying and so don't feel like it. You know, Kyle isn't always a pissy little boy, but I think many of us have a lot of fun playing with that part of his character. Their ages are pretty much ambiguous in this thing, so they could be canon age or older. Whatever you want. Also, I know there's a lot of Wendy hate out there and reading this might make it seem like I don't like her either, but honestly I love Wendy. She's one of my favorite characters. I get sick of hearing people talk about how much Wendy sucks because she's in the way of Style. It's like, come on people. Are you seriously? Anyhow, enjoy.

**Studying Sucks**

Notes were scattered across Kyle's desk, covering his keyboard and blocking the view of his open textbook. He was supposed to be studying for a math test on Monday. Everyone else in class always got irritated with the teachers whenever they scheduled tests for Mondays, but Kyle never really had a problem with it. Even if he would rather be doing something else, studying here and there over the weekend was no big deal for him. Except for today. Today, he could not keep his mind on the task. He knew he needed to study. There were formulas he had yet to completely get down. But his brain simply refused to stay on task.

He fumbled over the notes until he found his phone. Of course he had no new messages. Stan was on a date with Wendy. He wanted to send a text – just a random text – to keep from being bored, but he had a feeling he would annoy Stan if he interrupted him while he was with his girlfriend. It would probably seem weird if he was unable to go a day without texting him. He put his phone down and started writing out one of the formulas he needed to practice. The moment he had to think about what came next however, he put his pencil down and stared blankly at the page. His brain really did not want to focus.

With a sigh, he took his phone up again and thought about calling somebody else. He could call Cartman, but he would probably just try to drag him into something annoying. And Kyle was too busy studying (or rather needing to study) to get caught up in anything. Instead, he called Kenny.

"Hey Kenny."

The line crackled with static as Kenny spoke. "Hey Kyle. What's going on?"

"Nothing, I'm just super bored. Have you studied for our math test?"

Kyle heard Kenny grumble. "Not yet. I'll study tomorrow. Maybe."

"You really shouldn't wait till Sunday night to study," Kyle said. "But I guess that makes me feel better. I'm not the only one who isn't ready."

Kenny snorted. "You're probably a lot more ready than anyone else in class. Hey, Cartman asked if I wanted to go to Shakey's with him. I'll go if you go."

"No," Kyle frowned. "I really need to study, or else I totally would."

"Okay. Good luck. You got this, Kyle."

"Thanks dude."

Kyle hung up and stared at his phone. Still no messages, not that he was expecting any. He sighed and sat his phone down, picking up a handout with notes scribbled all over it. It was irritating. He could be so studious at times and take such extensive notes, but on days like this he felt like someone had tied a boulder to his chest and put a wall in his brain. Days like this meaning days when Stan was out with Wendy. Kyle grunted at himself. It was ridiculous that Stan's whereabouts should distract him so much. Especially knowing that he could study just fine if Stan were at home alone. It was not as though he particularly wanted Stan to be hanging out with him or studying together. Sure, that would be even better, but just knowing that Stan was with Wendy made Kyle feel uneasy.

Stan was with Wendy. And he definitely was not thinking about Kyle. Kyle felt himself fading. Maybe, he thought, he should have gone with Kenny and Cartman to Shakey's. Hanging out with them would have taken his mind off of Stan and Wendy way more than studying. And Wendy had probably already studied everything. She probably knew all the formulas and could use them without hesitation. Kyle imagined how nice it would be if he could make a way better grade than Wendy on this test. For that to be the case, she would have to somehow make an uncharacteristically bad grade. Usually, they were both top-grade students. Even if he did better than her, it was only ever by a few points and was nothing special. But whenever she did better:

"Wow," Stan would say, "You even did better than Kyle." Despite Kyle making a 97 against her 100.

"And you were worried," Stan would laugh. "Kyle was all confident and everything, and you even did better than him." Even when Kyle stayed up late the night before to make sure that he could be confident.

It happened all the time. Maybe, Kyle contemplated, dropping his handout to the floor. Maybe he should just stop studying and bomb the test. Then Stan would think something was up and actually care about his studying. Kyle would explain that he was burnt out, and then Stan would realize that those good grades did not simply come easy to him. Stan would finally recognize how much effort went into keeping his straight As. Of course, Kyle knew that the same could be said for Wendy. It was self-centered to imagine that he was the only one working hard, and he knew that some of the information really did come easier to him than some people.

And it was not as though he hated Wendy. Usually. They got along pretty well. In fact, out of all the girls Stan could have been interested in, objectively Kyle knew that Wendy was the best choice. She was smart and kind. She would keep him out of trouble if he ever wound up in any. And anyone who hated Cartman as much as he did was good in his book. Still, was it so bad for him to want a little bit more of Stan's attention?

Kyle stood and slumped to his bed, flopping his face onto it as he stood at the side. He felt his handout slide a bit under his foot. "Stupid Stan," he mumbled into the bed before crawling onto it. He figured he'd take a nap. Maybe sleep the day away and study in the morning when his mind was cleared. Then a thought came to him. One that was a little uplifting. Knowing Stan, he probably had not studied yet at all. And math was definitely not his strong point. And considering the fact that Wendy was spending the day with him, she would probably be busy on Sunday. If Kyle could make himself study now, he realized, he could tutor Stan.

It was perfect, he told himself as he stood from his bed. Because even if Stan tried to refuse his help, Kyle could just force the issue under the pretense of being nothing more than a concerned friend. He sat at his desk and organized his notes, tapping the bottom of the stack on the table with determination. He was going to study. And tomorrow, Stan was going to sit down and learn from him whether he wanted to or not.

"What time is it?" Stan groaned, shivering at the door. He was still in his pajamas, and his hair was like a messy mop.

Kyle closed the door as he came inside, walking past Stan for the dining room. "It's already after twelve. And I'll bet you haven't studied one bit for our test tomorrow."

Stan shuffled sluggishly after him, yawning. "No, but I don't really feel like it. Why do you want to do it right now? I just woke up."

They sat at the table, and Kyle pulled his folder and notebook from his back pack. "Because your education is important. And I had to make sure you wouldn't get caught up in something else today and neglect your studies."

Stan's face was too tired to display any emotion. "Why is my education suddenly so important?"

"Because Stan, I learned something. Sometimes it's easier to give up when you're feeling depressed. You might think it's more convenient to let the other side win, and that might be true. But that's just laziness talking. If you really want something, you have to put up a fight. But you can't just blindly rush in based off of your emotions. You have to think, and use tactics to get what you want."

Trying to determine if his brain was simply too tired to comprehend or if what Kyle was saying really was completely unrelated to his question, Stan replied, "...What?"

Kyle laughed. He always liked Stan's disbelieving voice. "I'm saying that you're lazy. Now look at this sheet. We're going to go over those problems first."


End file.
